Comics Peter Parker, speed dater

[Blader5489]

So I guess nobody is actually talking about the issue?

 

[Meehaul]

Yup. I liked it. For once Pete was given a little time, as well as one of the more important supporting characters in his life. The Obama thing could have been handled a lot better, however.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I admit, I liked the focus on Betty and the blond woman setting off Peter's spider sense made me chuckle but thats really all I can say about the issue.

 

[Captivated]

Well, I have to say that I still have yet to buy an issue of Brand New Day. Actually, I haven't bought an issue since part 2 or 3 of One More Day. I just cannot bring myself to buy into this new direction.

It's taken me awhile to realize why, and I think I've figured it out:

This isn't the Spidey I grew up with anymore. He's not the responsible, unlucky superhero who carries the weight of the world and his family on his shoulders, he's merely an undisciplined, irresponsible punk. As soon as he dealt away his marriage for an Aunt who wanted to die, it became apparent to me that it was time for me and Spidey to part ways.

Which sound smore like our hero facing reality and learning life lessons: A hero who takes the easy way out of a problem by looking for the "Reset" button, or the hero who accepts the decisions he's made, as well as learning to let someone go?

I thought Aunt May dying felt natural (the first time, moreso than how she would have died in OMD), and it would have given us a Peter who was truly independant. Imagine: Peter without that constant in his life, not being able to return home, and having to adjust to it! That's good drama, right there!

Also, if you wanted to end the marriage, you could still have went from that tangent. Peter turns down Mephisto's deal, and since MJ wanted to go through with it instead of letting Aunt May die, MJ and Peter split up. You could even go so far as to show that MJ made her own deal behind Peter's back to have him remasked, and Aunt May died anyway....thus showing that dealing with the devil is never a "good idea". Peter and MJ's marriage ends, and Peter is left without a wife or a mother figure. He is on his own...like a grown up. Imagine that.

Now, it's not the best scenario, but it's a better one than what we got, and we wouldn't sacrifcie our hero for it.

Anyways, I'm saying this as someone with an entire bookcase devoted to Spidey issues ALONE, and an two shelves of another bookcase devoted to just Spidey TPBs and HCs. I just really miss reading about my fave hero.

I too have a ridiculous amount of Spider-Man comics, books and paraphernalia... boxes and boxes full. Headed for the attic. Can't part with it yet. I guess I still have hope it might turn around someday.

But, breaking up Peter and MJ would have still been a deal killer for me.

Ironically, the relationship between Peter and MJ was the one constant bright spot during JMS' run (that was one thing he wrote very well) and beyond. Seemed like the moments between Peter and MJ were some of the best, even in otherwise weak and irritating stories. It was so bizarre to read that TPTB thought the marriage was some weak link...

 

[storyteller]

Killing the marriage was not the way to go. USM shows us that its not the relationship. Its the fact that Peter Parker is playing with the big boys and is a season superhero. Taking away for aged traits aint gonna cut it. So far in bnd. I'd say the majority of stories could have been told with a married Peter and a dead Aunt may.

 

[Meehaul]

All just differences of opinion. I thought the marriage was a mistake and it needed killing. MJ was not "the one" for Pete. The marriage was a gimmick, it was not the result of Pete's character development. In my view, it's just that the ending of the marriage was handled poorly--and in a way not consistent with Pete's charcter. Other people will, I'm sure, disagree. The main problem with Pete, in my view, is that Steve Ditko, in particular, had a vision for what Spider-Man was all about. It was a political view, a social view, a world view that was unique and made Spider-Man relevant. He was part of a larger social debate. That part of Spider-Man has simply vanished. He's in interesting character, to be sure, in part because he HAS a characterization that is a bit deeper than most costumed heroes. And practically alone, until recently, he actually had a supporting cast that mattered: Aunt May, Uncle Ben, JJJ, Robey. Gwen, MJ, Hobby Brown, Harry, Flash. Liz, Beatty, Eddie Brock--it's hard to find another hero in either the Marvel, DC, or any other coherent comic universe that has had so many characters that actually matter to the stories and to the character development. I think Marvel is trying to capture the "character" of Pete again and trying to re-ignite the people in his life that matter. But I seriously doubt Marvel will ressurrect what was perhaps most interesting about the character--the unique world-view that Steve Ditko embued the character with. Stan, of course, actually gave Pete a back story that made him different from the prevailing wisdom of the time (a skinny kid whose own mistakes resulted in his beloved Uncle's death) and actually created a character instead of a heroic icon, but it was Ditko who gave Pete social meaning. It would be awesome if Marvel let Pete swim against the grain again and be what he was in the '60s. The Obama story would have actually mattered if Pete had saved Obama and then, instead of sucking up to him or worshipping him, had actually had something thought provoking to SAY to him. To CHALLENGE him, just like when Pete chided the campus protesters back in the day. Now THAT would be a comic I'd dig reading. But the same commercial interests that ended the marriage will likely prevent Pete from being anything other than a standard "hero." But that's NOT what made Pete an icon.

 

[moraldeficiency]

I liked the obama appearence in last thunderbolts, they actually used him to further the story and plot. An unusual tactic, but a good one.